Pedrosa struggles with knee injury

Pedrosa struggles with knee injury

After having the gash in his knee assessed by the Clinica Mobile this morning, Dani Pedrosa took to the track for what turned out to be the only session of the day. Having obvious difficulty walking, and using a box to assist his ascension to the saddle, the Spaniard rode round well off the pace in the few laps that he undertook, with his fastest time six seconds slower than that of Valentino Rossi.

According to the statement of Doctor Claudio Macchiagodena, Medical Director of the Championship, who examined Pedrosa after yesterday's crash, "Dani has an incision with loss of substance in his right knee that fortunately has not affected the joint. He has got four stitches to reduce the wound but since it is in such a delicate place due to the continuous movement of the area and the flexed position of the leg on the bike, it is not sure whether he will be able to take part in the race on Sunday. Moreover, Dani has a tiny little fissure in his left big toe. If we would be talking of a normal person I would completely rule out the chance of taking part in the activities of the rest of the weekend, but since we're talking about a rider, we have to wait for the evolution of the injury in the 24 hours after the crash to make a further statement."
Pedrosa will still start from fifth tomorrow, as a result of his fast times in the first and second practices and the unprecedented cancellation of the qualifying session.